The Week Before
by LittleDemonInside
Summary: AU. One-shot. One week before the wedding. MidoriYouko, Shiznat, Harukino, ChieAoi, AkiraTakumi, MaixMikoto/Tate, AkaneKazuya, NaoFumi, ShihoTomoe, AlyssaMiyu, ReitoNagi, NinaErstin, ArikaMashiro, YukarikoIshigami. Challenge: Fourteen pairings.


**Disclaimer**: I don't own Mai Hime, Mai Otome or Mai Hime Destiny.

Okay, so this is my own challenge to myself (others can try it if they want) but it's basically: "Try to smoothly fit as may couples into the shortest fic you can, making sure it flows well and the characters are in character."

Summary: AU. (Fourteen pairings.) Join Youko as she meets her fiancee's vast, eccentric family (consisting of almost all the Hime crew!) MidorixYouko centered

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"I swear my family will love you!" Midori grinned as they stood outside the large double doors leading to the ballroom. She was dressed in her best suit because, after all, it wasn't often her family and friends gathered in one place. In reality, it wasn't that Midori was worried that her family would like Youko, quite the opposite- she worried Youko wouldn't like her family.

You see, behind the ballroom door of Midori's parent's mansion, there was a large assortment of people from every reach of society you could think of. They were quite an eccentric bunch and were sometimes a bit much to handle one at a time, but in a huge gathering such as this? Anything could happen.

However, Midori Sugiura wasn't too worried because Youko had accepted Midori's marriage proposal and as we all know: eccentric was Midori's middle name. That's right, three months ago, Midori bent down and purposed to Youko; she might have been smiling on the outside, but she was trembling on the inside. Luckily, Sagisawa had said yes and it was just in little more than a week that she would change her last name to Sugiura.

Now, Midori's whole family came to town to attend the wedding, but they all wanted to meet the lucky fiancée before the rehearsals/preparations for the event, so they set this gathering up a week or so beforehand.

The brunette smiled back, her dress a couple shades darker than her blue eyes, "I hope so," She replied sincerely. She turned to the door past her fiancée, thoughts buzzing through her head as she gripped her small purse in her hands a little tighter in anticipation.

"Oh, and uh, before we go in," Midori said, green eyes looking up to meet Youko's before falling down to the floor, an uneasy look on her face. "I want you to keep in mind that my family's—"

"'Not like other families,' I know. You've told me a thousand time," Youko rolled her eyes, light-heartedly. "But, I'll never be able to see for myself unless you open the door."

"Yeah…" Midori turned around, her ponytail swaying slightly to the motion. "Here goes nothing…" She muttered to herself as she opened the double doors at the same time, pushing them open.

The ballroom was huge and all in a buzz. Midori was right, Youko could see people from almost all walks of life in here gathered in the large, elegant room. She panned the area: to the far left was a bar with hired bartenders serving up drinks to the guests; the buffet was against the left wall, next to the bar; in the center of the room was a stage with a band playing- the music didn't quite fit the atmosphere, but Youko had to admit they were fairly good (she couldn't chase away the feeling she'd heard the song before); in front of the stage was a dance floor that was mostly empty because the party had only started about twenty minutes ago; the right side of the room was left for tables and chairs, the dining area.

"Wow…" The doctor's eyes were wide. She knew Midori said her parents were rich, which was evident because they lived in a mansion, but… wow. She couldn't help but stare, soaking it all in.

The redhead took a hold of her fiancée's hand, smirking, "Just imagine what they might have planned for the wedding."

Youko frowned. If it was any more extravagant than this, she might not be able to manage…

"Oh yeah, and Youko?"

The brunette looked down to her soon-to-be wife, "Yes?"

Sugiura sheepishly scratched the back of her head with her free hand, "Sorry again about my parents not being here. They promised they wouldn't try to influence my choice when I finally did decide on who I wanted to be with. They said that in order to do that, they'd wait until the rehearsal before the wedding to meet you."

"That's fine," The tall brunette gave her future-wife's hand a light, reassuring squeeze, her smile growing a bit more when her fiancée seemed to relax at such a touch. _She must be stressing out about this._ She sighed contently to herself, glad for Midori's concern, even though it wasn't necessary in her opinion. In truth, Sagisawa was a bit anxious about meeting Midori's parents and making a good impression, but first it seemed she had to impress everyone _here_ first.

"_Midori!_" And here comes family member number one…

The pair at the doorway looked over to see who called the shorter of the two. Midori's smile turned into a bright grin as she ran over to meet the woman, "Saeko-neechan!" She exclaimed, grabbing her older sister and spinning her around a bit before setting her down.

The older sister was just as enthusiastic, laughing, grabbing her younger sister's shoulders before pulling into a hug. "Midori-chan! Oh my God, you're finally getting married!" They looked like a couple of giddy schoolgirls. Green eyes blinked behind glasses as she gazed over Midori's shoulder, finally spotting Youko. Her smile gradually grew into an open-mouthed grin as realization dawned on her, "You must be Youko-chan! Oh, I've heard so much about you!"

The raven-haired woman backed up from Midori and walked over to Youko, her eyes gleaming with suppressed excitement and interest, "I must admit, I've been dying to see who the person is that tamed the lion!"

Youko giggled as Midori blushed behind Saeko, then turned her gaze back to Saeko, "It's nice to finally meet you too, Mrs. Kuga."

The noirette's face scrunched up a bit at the title, "None of that 'Mrs. Kuga' stuff. You're going to be my sister within a week or so! Please, call me Saeko."

"Then please call me Youko, Saeko-chan," The brunette responded.

"Of course!" The spectacled woman replied. "But now that I look at you…" She back up, looking the tall woman up and down with a knowing smirk, "I can see why you caught Midori's eye."

"Saeko!" Midori frowned through her flushed face, causing Youko and Saeko to laugh lightly at her embarrassment.

"I'm just teasing you, Midori-chan," Saeko said after calming down, smiling cheekily.

"If I may ask," Youko started, getting the black-haired woman's attention once more. "Where's Mr. Kuga?"

Saeko's smile turned into a sad one, "I'm afraid he isn't with us anymore."

Youko's eyes widened, her features and voice turning sympathetic, "Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to bring up any bad memories."

The woman with glasses smiled her normal, calm smile. She shook her head, "Don't worry about it. I've gotten over it- I realized that I'll see him when it's my time to pass on as well, but thank you for your consideration." She then paused for a second or two before looking up to meet blue eyes once more, "Oh yes! Have you met my daughter and her family?"

"I'm afraid we just got here so you're the first person I've greeted."

"Okay then, I'll call Natsuki and her family over so you can meet them. I'll let others know of your arrival in the mean time." Before the other woman had a chance to respond, Kuga turned around and started to call out her child's name, walking off.

Midori took this chance to walk over to her future wife and lean up to her ear, "Saeko's always like this, easily excited by new things. Once you become a familiar face, she'll start acting a bit more calm."

"So you really _are_ the person with the most energy in the family then," Youko joked back, whispering.

Midori smirked, winking as she whispered her response, "You bet!"

Youko raised an eyebrow at her before she realized what Midori meant. She turned away, and brought up one of her hands to cover up her red cheeks. She frowned, _I didn't mean it like that!_

"Youko, are you okay?"

The brunette looked up to see Saeko looking at her with a concerned expression, standing next to two other women. She cleared her throat, forcing her herself to calm down before answering, "Yes, I'm fine, thank you, Saeko-chan." She ignored Midori as the redhead suppressed her smirk as best she could.

"That's good." Saeko then motioned to the two woman next to her, "This is my daughter, Fujino Natsuki, and her wife, Fujino Shizuru. They have a kid, but she's probably roaming around somewhere with the others they brought." The older raven-head turned to the others, "This Sagisawa Youko, Midori's fiancée."

Natsuki Fujino nodded her head, "Nice to meet you." The woman's dress was a dark blue, much darker than Youko's, bordering on black.

"And you too." _She looks exactly like her mother_, Youko inwardly mused, smiling. She then turned her attention to the other brunette and couldn't help but notice, _Bright red eyes…_

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Sagisawa-san," The woman bowed. "I'm Fujino Shizuru, Natsuki's wife." She was wearing a dominantly indigo colored kimono.

"And you as well, Fujino-san," Youko bowed her head in response. _But still, I can't help but shake the feeling I've heard of the name Fujino before…_ "Um, pardon me but…" She trailed off, wondering if it was okay to ask.

"Yes?" The one known as Shizuru gently prodded.

"I can't help but think I've heard of that name 'Fujino'. Have we met before?" Youko asked.

The shorter brunette shook her head, smiling knowingly, "I don't believe we have, but perhaps you've heard of 'Fujino Touch'…?"

Youko blinked trying to recall. She then gasped, her eyes widening, "You're _that_ Fujino?" She said a bit louder than she first intended.

Shizuru chuckled, amused, "Yes, I'm the founder and CEO of Fujino Touch. Together, with Natsuki and her ideas," red eyes glanced over to her left, satisfied by the pink tint on her wife's cheeks and her adorable scowl, "I make country's leading brand of lingerie."

Midori grinned, deciding to re-join the conversation, "Yeah Youko, you should thank Shi-chan for the underwear you're wearing right no—OW!" Midori immediately bent down, gripping and massaging the foot Youko just drove her three-inch heels into.

"Midori!" Youko scolded, frowning down at her fiancée through flushed cheeks.

"Ara," Youko back looked over to Shizuru when she drawled, "I'm glad you approve of our product enough to use it."

"F-Fujino-san?" Youko's blush intensified as Shizuru started to giggle behind her hand, greatly bewildered (as was expressed on her face) that the younger brunette was teasing her.

"Forgive me, Sagisawa-san, I couldn't resist," Shizuru said between fits of giggles, her red eyes shining in mirth.

Natsuki sighed next to her wife, "If you're going to join this family, Sagisawa-san, you better get use to it," She informed the tall brunette. "You haven't met Nina." She said, more to herself. The raven-haired woman turned around and started to search through the throngs of people, coming back soon after with her daughter, plus one more. "This is Nina and her friend Erstin. We adopted Nina when she was younger." Natsuki gave the seven-year-old an encouraging push, "Go on and say hi to Miss Sagisawa."

"Nice to meet you, Miss Sagisawa," Nina bowed at her waist, blushing a bit from the attention. She leaned back up as Erstin introduced herself in the same fashion, albeit not as awkwardly.

"Nice you meet you two as well," Youko smiled at the cute scene before her. _Adopted? I would have taken Nina-chan to be Natsuki-san's real daughter- the only difference is the color of their eyes!_

"These two are always together," Shizuru smiled fondly down at her daughter and her friend.

"'K-kaasama!" Nina exclaimed, orange eyes giving a half-hearted glare as she flushed. Erstin tightened her hold on Nina's hand a little more as she turned her head away, trying to hide her deep blush.

Shizuru inwardly gushed at the scene.

Natsuki rolled her eyes, a small smile growing at her wife's antics, "''Kaasama' shouldn't tease her daughter so much."

Shizuru smiled her infamous smile. She addressed Natsuki with the title Nina uses for her, "Well, 'Mother' should be more openly supportive of her daughter's relationship." She managed to tease her daughter once more while addressing her wife, pleased to watch them both redden at the same time.

"'Kaasama!" "Shizuru!"

Youko watched on, _They really are alike._

"_Nina-chan!_" A young, bouncy redhead appeared in the scene, smiling broadly. "There you are, Nina-chan, Ers! Mashiro's been looking for you guys!"

Nina frowned, "Mashiro can wait." She deadpanned. Nina really didn't feel like dealing with Arika or Mashiro, let alone both of them together.

"But she says it's important! C'mon!" The ant-like girl started to pull the two back through the crowd, leaving the adults to themselves once more.

"And they're gone…" Natsuki muttered, sympathizing with her daughter.

"Sorry to break this up, Na-chan, Shi-chan, but we really have to meet other people," Midori smiled, sensing this was as good a time as any to move on.

"Oh yes, please forgive us for taking your time," Shizuru said.

"Not at all," Youko smiled, "It was nice meeting you both, Fujino-san."

"Likewise," Shizuru grabbed her wife's arm, tucking her own under it. "And if you have any suggestions or special orders for lingerie, please do not hesitate to ask." And with that, they were off.

Blue eyes watched them go before they met with familiar green, "I never thought I'd meet a CEO of anything."

Midori smirked, "Heh! If you think _that's_ good, wait until you meet my brother! He's a politician!"

"And who is your brother?" The doctor raised an eyebrow, intrigued.

Midori's smirk only grew, "Ever heard of… Kanzaki Rei?"

Another gasp came out from Youko's mouth. _Him?_ One surprise right after another! "Really? _The_ Kanzaki Rei?"

Midori nodded, "Yup! He's over at the bar if you want to meet him." Midori got onto her toes to try and peered over all the heads, "And so is his son, if that's who I think it is, sitting a few chairs down from him." The redhead grinned, becoming flat-footed once more before pulling her fiancée toward the bar, "This way!"

"Ah! Mi-Midori! Wait!" Sagisawa tried to keep up, weaving her way through the mass while trying not to trip on her heels.

Once the redhead let go of the brunette's hand, she started to walk toward a smartly dressed individual sitting at the bar, "'Nii-chama~!" She called out jokingly, a broad grin on her face as he turned around.

"Ah, Midori!" His yellow eyes gleamed as he smiled back, meeting Midori halfway for a hug. "I was wondering when I'd get to see you tonight," The bald man drew back and stared down at his younger sister.

"Well, Youko wanted to meet you and I couldn't say no to that!" The lion-like redhead continued to grin, inwardly snickering at the glare she felt hitting the back of her head.

_Don't twist my words!_ Youko inwardly fumed before she noticed the man coming towards her. She felt herself grow stiff as he stopped a few feet in front from her, holding out his hand. _His presence is certainly foreboding, but I guess you have to have a large 'presence' if you want to be a good politician._ "Hello, you must be the Sagisawa Youko I've heard so much about. It's nice to finally see you in person."

"Likewise, Kanzaki-san," Youko shook his hand, looking up to meet his friendly smile. Her own smile then turned a little awkward out of embarrassment, "Forgive me, but I didn't learn that you were Midori's elder brother until just a minute ago."

Rei chuckled a deep, hearty chuckle that easily resonated, "I wouldn't expect anything less from Troublemaker Midori."

Youko brightened a bit, interested in Midori's title, "'Troublemaker Midori'?" Their hands dropped.

The man's black eyebrows lifted up, "You haven't heard? Well then, I suppose that's a story to tell you after the wedding."

Youko laughed, "I look forward to it." The brunette was surprised to find herself able to relax around such an influential man.

"Would you like to meet my son?" The bald man asked.

"I would love to."

He turned his head to look down a ways, finding a familiar bushel of raven hair, "Reito!"

The boy turned around, "Yes, Father?"

"Come over here for a second and meet your aunt's new fiancée."

Reito nodded and walked over, bowing, "Nice to meet you, I'm Kanzaki Reito." The boy, who reminded Youko of his father, gestured back to a much smaller boy that was sitting next to Reito. "And back there is my boyfriend, Nagi."

The small albino did a small hand-gesture for a wave before turning back to his drink. Reito gave Youko an apologetic look, "Sorry, he doesn't do well in crowded places."

"It's fine," She responded to ease the boy's tension.

Rei piped up, "I'm sorry you couldn't meet my daughter, Mikoto; she's busy elsewhere. And my wife isn't in the country, I'm afraid, but I swear you will meet her someday."

"I look forward to meeting them," Sagisawa said sincerely.

"I'm sure they look forward to it too."

"Well, we're off, Rei! We gotta meet others!" Midori grinned, glad that both her brother and sister approved of Youko.

The older Kanzaki nodded, "I understand. See you around," he said, before both Kanzakis went back to their seats.

"So, how about a drink while we're here," The suit-clad woman smiled impishly, rubbing her hands together at all the mixtures behind the bar.

"One drink for now," Youko said in an authoritative voice, all too familiar with her soon-to-be wife's drinking habits. (Although she inwardly admitted that she wasn't any better…)

"W-what?"

"Unless you rather _me_ be the one driving us home…"

Midori's green eyes widened, pupils dilating, "N-no, that's f-f-fine…" She trailed off, images of the doctor driving going through her mind. While Youko was normally a calm and collected woman, her extreme road-rage caught a many-a-person (Midori included) off guard.

After recovering, the ponytailed woman pouted, "Fine," She repeated, sulking as she walked over to the barstool. "One beer," She ordered to any bartender listening.

"Sure, Midori!" A familiar voice responded with what sounded like suppressed mirth.

"Huh?" Sugiura perked at the voice. She turned to see one of her long-time friends cleaning a beer mug to use. "Chie!"

"Don't you know it," The bartender smirked, winking.

"Why're you behind the counter?" Midori asked.

"This is my part-time job. I guess I just got lucky that the call was for such a high-paying offer. I'd expect nothing less from your family, though," Chie walked over to the dispenser and started to fill the mug. "So tell me, Midori, what's the party for? They didn't tell me anything."

"I'm getting married here soon and the family wanted to meet her," Midori said casually, enjoying the reaction she got.

"M-married?" Chie's grip on the mug almost slipped. She turned to glare at her friend, "You're getting married and you didn't tell me? Screw the family, _I_ wanna meet 'er!" The charcoal-haired bartender smirked, adjusting her glasses after serving the drink.

"Well, she's standing right here," Midori smiled, motioning to the tall brunette. "Youko, this is Chie Harada."

"Nice to meet you," Youko smiled pleasantly, taking a seat next to her partner.

Chie's brown eyes glinted, "And it's certainly a pleasure to meet you." She whipped out a blue rose from nowhere and held it out to her friend's future wife, "This is for you."

Next to them, Midori growled, snatching the rose from Chie's hand and throwing it into the trashcan under the counter, "Don't flirt with my fiancée!"

Harada smiled apologetically, "Sorry, force of habit."

"_Chie!_"

"Yes~?" Chie turned to see who called her, before gulping. "A-Aoi…"

The brunette was glaring, "Were you flirting again?"

"M-maybe," Brown eyes had to look away from the harsh blue stare. "B-but!" She looked back, "You know it means nothing! You're all that matters to me, babe!"

Senoh's frown furrowed, suspicious, "… Really?"

"Yes! Really! You mean the world to me! More than the world!"

A few more intense seconds (at least for Harada) ticked by before the shorter brunette sat down with a smile on her face, "Okay then." She smiled at Chie, "How about something light, Chie-kun?" She fixed a couple wrinkles in the maid outfit that she was wearing.

"Coming right up!" The gray-haired woman went right to work fixing a drink for her girlfriend.

"Oh right, Akane-chan and her boyfriend Kazuya are dancing on the dance floor. She wanted me to inform you just in case," Aoi added as an after-thought.

"M'kay." And this cued a conversation between the bartender and the maid.

"Any more influential people that I'll be meeting?" Youko thought she'd bring it up as she was thinking about it.

"Hm…" Midori closed her eyes, thinking. "No one 'influential,' but Mai-chan, my cousin, is famous!" She grinned before taking another swig of her drink.

"'Famous'?"

"Yeah, you know that pop band, 'HiME Star'?"

"Yeah." _I've heard of them. Their songs are all over the radio._

Midori's grin turned into a smirk before she thumbed over to the stage, where a band was playing.

Blue eyes followed to where she was pointing, "Is that them?"

"Yep! In the flesh!" Midori smirked. "The busty, carrot-top you see, the lead singer, is Tokiha Mai-chan!" Midori then swerved her seat around and pointed to the raven-haired girl on the drums, "And you know how Rei said Mikoto's busy and couldn't be met?"

Youko's eyes widened, putting two-and-two together, "Kanzaki Mikoto's the band's drummer?"

Midori nodded her head, "Mikoto and Mai are inseparable. I bet they even sleep in the same house." The redhead then pointed to the boy playing the guitar next to the lead singer, "That's Tate Yuuichi, Mai's boyfriend. They just hooked up not that long ago after being in the band together for a while." There were a couple other members of the band HiME Star that Midori didn't bother to talk about.

Midori turned her body back around toward the bar, "You might meet them later." She grinned, "I just know that dad is happy one of his nieces is able to provide music for the wedding, that way he doesn't have to pay for one more thing. Knowing him, though, he'd probably buy the best around if Mai hadn't offered."

"Have any more cousins?" Youko asked.

"Four more, five in total. One of them's a step-cousin and all the others are from the same mother," She turned and chuckled, seeing the look on Youko's face. "Yeah, mom's sister, my one and only aunt, -who's also not here to meet you, sorry- had four kids; three girls and one boy- all redheads."

Midori looked around the ballroom and stopped her gaze when she spotted a cousin down the bar. She turned back to Youko, giving her an apprehensive smile, "The quazi-tailed-haired person down there is Shiho Hinagiku and next to her, the one with the weird haircut, is her wife, Tomoe Hinagiku. Shiho's sorta the 'black sheep' of the family and she's found someone as equally strange to be her life-partner..."

"Midori!" Youko reprimanded, frowning in disapproval.

"But—!" Midori didn't continue, giving her fiancée a helpless look. _If only she knew…_

Shiho, down at the other end of the bar from the soon-to-be-wedded, held a small spoon filled with ice cream up, level to her wife's mouth, "Here comes the buzzing bee with honey, ready to return to the beehive! Say 'ah'!" Shiho made a buzzing sound as se circled the spoon around and finally placing it in Tomoe's ready-to-receive mouth.

"Ah~" Tomoe chomped down on the spoon, happily receiving the ice cream.

Shiho smirked inwardly, _Maki, maki maki, maki…_

Tomoe suddenly stopped swirling the ice cream on her tongue. _Oh my God…_ Her face paled, _This tastes horrible!_ She exclaimed in her thoughts, unaware it was her wife's doing.

"Aww, did the baby get a mouth full of bad food?" Shiho cooed, making Tomoe shiver at the redhead's exploit of her baby fetish. "Don't worry," Shiho's orange eyes grew dark as she smirked provocatively, "Mama'll make it better." She said breathily before moving her head forward and pushing her tongue into her wife's mouth, and moaning softly as she explored the green-haired woman's mouth, enjoying it even more when Tomoe started to kiss back.

Midori shuddered. _Yeah, if only Youko knew…_

"Sugiura-kun! Sagisawa-kun!" A familiar voice to both of them came up from behind.

Both of them turned around, smiling at the newcomer, "Haruka! Yukino-chan!" Midori smiled broadly.

"It's nice to see you both again," Youko said sincerely, getting up and walking over to Yukino, giving her friend a hug.

Haruka smirked, "So, getting married are you? Aren't you now glad that I hooked you two up?" It was true, Haruka who was friends with both Midori and Youko, knowing them from two separate places, brought them both along for a party her construction company was holding where the now-fiancées meet for the first time, hitting it off right away. That was also where they met Yukino, Haruka's wife, and became friends.

"More than glad!" Midori smiled broadly, walking over and giving her blonde friend a hug, receiving a bear hug in return.

"Yes," The taller brunette smiled, "If it wasn't for you, Midori and I wouldn't be here right now."

The blonde sniffed at this, "Nonsense! You would have eventually found each other, even without my help!"

Midori smirked as their hug broke apart, "I never would have taken Haruka to be the 'believes in soulmates' kind of person."

"Well then, you thought wrong, didn't you?" Haruka grinned back, crossing her arms under her chest. "I happen to know for a fact that Yukino and I are soulmates, and I wouldn't have it any other way!" She turned back to see the shorter brunette blush at the announcement, bashful. Her purple eyes softened at the sight.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Midori started to stretch. "We all know how much you _love _Yukino-chan. Because it's not like you haven't told us before," She ended sarcastically, smiling brightly when the blonde Suzushiro glared at her.

The brunette Suzushiro figured it was time to change the subject before anything bad started, "I didn't know Sugiura-san was related to Shizuru-san."

Haruka huffed at the mention of the name, "That damned Bubuzuke…"

"Yeah, she's like, my step-niece, or something…" The redhead trailed of lamely.

"You know Fujino-san?" Youko asked.

Haruka frowned, purple eyes hardening, "Know her? That slinking snake is an overly cunning stock-share holder! She grabbed some really good deals right from under my nose! Then she gets a hold of some of _my_ company's shares because some lower-staff guy didn't know any better, making her own a portion of _my_ company!" She ended her rant, the volume of her voice getting louder as she went.

"'Slithering snake', Haruka-chan," Yukino corrected on cue. She sighed, "Haruka-chan, I'm getting a tad hungry, shall we eat?" She said, knowing how passionate Haruka can get about the former touchy subject. She wanted to quickly change it before the blonde stormed over to where the Fujinos were and started something.

"Hm?" Haruka blinked, then looked down at her wife, "Oh, sure. Let's go." She turned to the two others, "See you."

"It was nice to see you again. And congratulations!" Yukino smiled at her friends before walking off with her wife toward the buffet.

Almost as soon as they were gone, another person came up and thumped Midori hard in the back, "What's up, cuz'?"

Midori turned to glare at whoever knocked her off balance, only to gasp and grin broadly, "Nao-chan!" She scooped her cousin up in a big hug.

"Whoa, whoa, easy on the threads!" She brushed the invisible dust off her formal waistcoat once she was set free, "This is rented, y'know?" She smirked.

Midori laughed, "How cheap!"

Nao's smirk only grew, "So, you're finally getting hitched?" She mock-pouted, "Now that my drinking buddy's gone, how will I ever make it through my life? Oh, woe is me!" She placed her hand dramatically over her heart.

"I'll still drink with you," Midori responded, amused by the act.

An act in which Nao dropped right there, her casual smirk coming back, "Damn right you will." They both chuckled. After they calmed down, Nao looked over to Youko, "Huh… So this is the girl that 'stole your heart', right?" Nao's piercing green eyes started to check Youko out, looking up and down, not even trying to hide the satisfied smirk growing on her face. "Not bad, Midori-chan, not bad…" She said, slowly licking her lips.

Youko narrowed her gaze when Midori's cousin's eyes finally met hers. The cat-like woman smiled wickedly, "What's wrong, princess? You should chill and take it as a compliment."

Youko was about to reply back, offended, when Midori beat her to it, glaring at Nao. "Eyes off my fiancée. She's already taken."

The other redhead shrugged, "I don't go after taken girls- too much of a hassle." Her smile then dropped and her features took on an irritated look. "Speaking of which, how the hell am I suppose to find any action in a _family_ gathering?" She shoved her hands into her pants pockets and glared, panning the area. "The only thing these get-togethers are good for are pestering Kuga— er, wait it's Fujino now. (Forgot she married.) Anyway, as I was saying: the only thing these get-togethers are good for are annoying mutt-face and—Holy shit! Look at the size of her rack!" Nao exclaimed, a hungry smile slowly forming on her face. She continued to eye the woman greedily, "She's on par with Mai!"

Midori and Youko followed her gaze to find yet another redhead, wearing a maid outfit similar to Aoi's. The lion-like woman sighed, "Nao-chan, you should really try finding someone to settle down with."

"Pfft! And miss out on all the fun?" Nao scoffed, "I don't think so." Midori rolled her eyes as the younger woman continued, "People keep telling me that I'll 'find the one' or I 'should look for my soulmate'; that I'll soon be too old to play around. I always reply by asking them _how_. How am I supposed to know unless I try everyone out?" She ended cheekily.

As she finished, she glanced back over to the maid and frowned, "Crap, how the hell am I suppose to approach with her with all those brats running around?"

Speaking of those brats, the bouncy one with braids was pulling along the purple-haired one, "C'mon, Mashiro-chan! The food's over here!" She had no disregard for the other girl as she continued through the crowd, a wide grin on her face.

"W-wait! Stop! _Idiot_!" The other one yelled in vain, trying to keep up with the first girl. They disappeared into the mass of guests on their way toward the buffet.

Nao's eyes lit up, "Lucky!" She chimed, smirking. She turned back toward the guests of honor, "I'm off. I wish you happiness, and pleasantries and all that jazz," She said as she turned around and waved over her shoulder. She sauntered smoothly toward her destination, heading right for her chosen company of the night.

Youko closed her eyes, taking a deep breath, calming down, "She was quite…"

Midori sighed, scratching her neck, "Yeah, I know. She's always like this- you'll get use to it."

"I suppose…" Something in Sagisawa's voice suggested that she had doubts. She then blinked, remembering something, "Wait, if your cousins are all siblings, why don't they have the same last name?"

"Well, I guess the reason Nao chose to change her name from 'Tokiha' to 'Yuuki' was to part herself from the rest of the family a bit. Kinda like how Rei changed his name from 'Sugiura' to 'Kanzaki'. He didn't want his family name to influence some things in his life- wanted to start out fresh and do his own thing. At least, that's how I see it," Green eyes looked up to meet blue. "My family's a bit complicated…" She grinned humorously.

"Much more interesting than mine, to say the least," Youko mused aloud.

"Midori-san, congratulations."

Midori glanced around to find a smiling face walking toward them, "Yukariko!" She grinned, "Long time no see!" She then looked to the artist standing next to her friend, her smile immediately dropping. "Ishigami," She addressed bluntly with a hint is displeasure. She obviously wasn't pleased with seeing the gray-haired man.

Brown eyes narrowed behind glasses, "Sugiura." It seemed the hate was mutual.

Yukariko frowned, sighing, "Please don't start anything you two." She turned back to the redhead, giving a small smile, "I was given an invitation and I simply had to come!" She looked over to the taller brunette and smiled, "You must be Sagisawa! Midori talks about you all the time when she emails."

Youko smiled, "Good things I hope."

"Of course! Oh, how rude of me." She cleared her throat a little, holding out her left hand, "I'm Yukariko Ishigami and this is my husband Wataru Ishigami." The artist's wife motioned to her husband with a head-nod while she and Youko shook hands. Yukariko then smiled fondly down at the little blonde holding her right hand, "And this is Alyssa, our daughter." Midori's friend looked down to her daughter, smiling encouragingly, "Do you want to say hello to Sagisawa-san?"

The three year old looked back and forth between her mother and the other brunette, looking hesitant. With a little more soft coaxing, Alyssa bowed at the waist, "H-hello…" Her voice was soft and shy.

Youko's eyes softened at the scene. _So cute_, She gushed in her thoughts.

"You remember Midori, right Alyssa?" Yukariko addressed the young blonde.

Alyssa smiled, obviously fond of the memories she had with Midori, "Ri-chan!" She called out, a beaming smile on her face as she looked up to the redhead.

"Nice to know at least _one_ of Yukariko's family members likes me," Green eyes looked pointedly at the husband before grinning back at the youngest Ishigami.

"And the one next to Alyssa is her friend, Miyu Greer. I had to babysit my friend's daughter, I hope you don't mind," Ms. Ishigami said, an apologetic expression on her face.

"Nah," Midori grinned. "The more the merrier!"

"Not at all, they're both wonderful," Youko smiled, bending her knees slightly and placing her hands on her thighs so she was closer to Alyssa and Miyu's level. "Are you two enjoying it here?" She asked and couldn't help but giggle at the cautious/timid look in the young blue eyes.

"… Yes," The girl finally answered quietly.

"That's good." The tall brunette then looked over to the light-blue haired, four year-old, "And you?"

All she got was a silent nod, her face emotionless and for some odd reason, Youko wasn't troubled by it. It was almost as if that was what fit the girl best.

Sagisawa noted that they were holding hands, "Are you helping Alyssa-chan out, Miyu-chan?"

The nod came a little slower this time and her deep red gaze feel to the floor. She had the cutest spots of pink forming on her cheeks, the only color on otherwise pale skin.

"Oh yes," Yukariko chimed from above. "They're always together, those two. Miyu-chan's always looking out for Alyssa, making sure she doesn't get hurt."

"That's a very nice thing for you to do, Miyu-chan," Youko smiled, watching Greer nod timidly as the blush grew a little more.

"Hey look!" A voice from behind them called out. "Kids younger than us are here!" The person ran into view, ignoring the common courtesy of introducing herself. "Aww! Look at 'em! So small and squishable!" She cooed.

"Arika!" Another girl her age came running out of the crowd, panting heavily.

"Mashiro-chan! Look at the cute little one!" The redhead exclaimed giddily as she tried to get closer. "She has a bow in her hair too!"

The blonde's eyes widened as she ran behind Miyu who protectively stood in the way between Alyssa and Arika, glaring right into Arika's blue eyes.

Arika responded by blinking, confused. She leaned back up and looked up to Yukariko, "What're their names?"

"Alyssa and Miyu," The mother smiled.

Arika smiled broadly, thumbing to herself, "My name Arika Yumemiya!" She pointed over her shoulder, "And she's Mashiro-chan!"

"_Ahem!_" Light green eyes glared at the back of Yumemiya's head before she started once more, "I'm Mashiro Windbloom. Yes, of _that_ Windbloom family," She smiled smugly, more than happy to show off her powerful last name.

"Yeah, and we're here because Nina-chan and her family are here!" Blue eyes gave a side-ways glance toward Windbloom, "And Mashiro-chan brought along a couple of attendants, although I don't know why. I'm perfectly capable of taking care of her!" The ant-like girl puffed her chest confidently.

"Like heck you are!" The other fumed loudly behind her.

Arika ignored Mashiro and cooed a little more at the younger girls, "They're so cute!" She paused, frowning a bit as she thought something over. She smiled when she reached a conclusion, "But not as cute as Mashiro-chan!" Yumemiya nodded at her own words.

"W-what?" Mashiro blushed, caught off guard. She tried to cover it up by yelling some more, "D-don't say stupid things!"

"Eh~?" Arika frowned, pouting as she turned around to the light-haired girl, "But it's true. And grandma always said lying is bad!" Her stomach then growled. She flushed a little, looking down at her stomach before turning to the others, an awkward smile on her face, "I'm hungry again." She beamed brightly, "Let's go, Mashiro-chan!" And she was off, running once again through the crowd with Windbloom trying to keep up.

"That was…" Midori blinked. "Interesting… Um," She trailed off, looking over to Yukariko. "Well, Youko still has others to meet. I'll see you again sometime," She waved, taking her fiancée by the hand and walking away after Yukariko said her goodbyes.

"So, who're you looking for now?" Youko asked, amusedly watching as Midori tried to peer over everyone else's heads.

"My last cousin," Midori replied, distracted, frowning. "You'll meet Mai-chan later, so I'm looking for Takumi-kun…" She sighed, becoming flat-footed once more. She turned around, "I guess he couldn't make—oh!" Her grin reappeared, "He's sitting at the tables!" She started to walk over to the dining area, keeping in step with her soon-to-be wife.

"Ah, Midori-chan, congratulations." Takumi smiled, waving as he greeted his hyperactive cousin.

Midori pulled out a chair for Youko before sitting in her own, "Thanks, but you know this party isn't just for me, right?" She grinned cheekily.

"Of course," Tokiha nodded. His purple eyes met Youko's, "It's nice to meet you Sagisawa-san."

"You as well, Tokiha-san," Youko greeted back.

"Oi, Akira-kun! I almost didn't notice you there!" Midori grinned when Akira gave her an passive look.

"Good to see you haven't changed much, Sugiura-san."

"Same to you, Ninja-chan!" She replied to the dark-haired girl. She glanced over to see Youko giving her a confused look, then apologized. "Sorry, it's just playful banter. You see, Akira-kun here comes from a long line of ninjas, the Okuzaki clan."

The confused frown just furrowed, "Then why is he with your family, if he's a ninja?"

"_She_," Midori corrected, a small smirk on her face as she waited for her partner's reaction.

'_She'?_ It took Youko a bit to realize what she meant. "Oh!" She exclaimed, then sent an apologetic look to the girl, "I'm so sorry! I didn't meant to call you a boy!"

"It's fine." Akira sighed, "It happens often."

Takumi smiled placing his hand onto Akira's, "I never called you a boy."

Akira's dark brown eyes went wide at the intimate touch, "O-of course you didn't!" She said, trying to cover her embarrassment. "You act more like a girl than I do!" She turned her head to glare at a nearby empty table, aware of the warm tingling on her cheeks.

Midori grinned at the scene as Takumi chuckled lightly.

When she thought Okuzaki had been tortured enough, Midori finally turned to the doctor, "Takumi-kun was born with a weak heart, and my aunt, being as over-protective as she is, hired a ninja to guard and take care of him. She's basically his bodyguard-slash-helper. They were both very young when this was assigned so they practically grew up together."

"Ah, I see," Youko said, thinking of it as another interesting quirk to Midori's family.

"Oh yeah, you should thank Takumi for baking our wedding cake," Midori winked, smiling.

"You're making our cake for the wedding?" Youko asked, surprised.

"Yes," He nodded. "I'm a baker by profession so I tend to make the cakes for our family's special events."

"Oh, well, thank you for your services," Youko nodded her head in appreciation.

"Think nothing of it, I'm glad to help!" His smile widened.

"Huh, all this talk about cake is making me hungry, how about we grab a bite to eat ourselves, Youko?" The female redhead said as she stood up, reaching her hand down to help her fiancée out of her chair.

Youko looked over to the two occupants of the table, "If you don't mind."

"Not at all," Takumi said. "The guests of honor should be able to eat at their own gathering, at the very least."

Youko smiled, "Thank you." She used the offered hand to stand. "It was nice meeting you two."

"Likewise," The male redhead replied as Akira just nodded her head.

_Not one for words, is she?_ Sagisawa mused before walking toward the buffet with Sugiura, hooking her arm around Midori's.

* * *

Ha.. I know that doesn't really seem like the ending, but it is, sorry. =P If you like what you've read, or see something I can improve on, please leave a review with any questions or comments you might have. =)

(I know, a could random pairings are in there, but this_ is_ an 'as many pairings as you can write' challenge so I went for it. ;P)


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